Blog Swap Week 6: Is Your Job Parked on Cemetery Lane?

EXCELER8ion is participating in a “BlogSwap” with some of the best recruiting community Bloggers. Here is a terrific guest post from Dennis Smith of the Career Builders Blog:

I took the kids fishing this past weekend in my ol’ stomping grounds – Oklahoma.  After we had our fill of fishing and four-wheeling, they talked me in to visiting the “Ol’ Cemetery.”  I lived across from this same cemetery for years and never had a desire to visit, but hey, I guess the times have changed. 

If I hadn’t seen this sign with my own eyes, and had my daughter not taken the pic with my camera, I would’ve assumed somebody had worked a lil’ PhotoShop magic.  But, alas, it’s true.  There is a street on the south side of the cemetery called, appropriately, Cemetery Lane.  Making a right-hand turn onto Cemetery Lane I quickly noticed that I was turning on to a dead-end road.  There was a moment of silence (for the dead, of course), before we all broke in to crazy laughter.

Immediately I thought of Godin’s Broken video.  Then, I sent a copy of the pic to my brother who appropriately forwarded it to Leno.  Who knows, maybe our picture will get 15 seconds of fame. 

Now, since we’re talking about Dead End roads, let’s talk about your job.  CareerBuilder recently posted an article called “Dead End Job?  Seven Signs.”

Read through this list to see if you recognize yourself in these situations:

1. Overload
2. Unsung Hero
3. Out of the Loop
4. Looming Dread
5. Is this All There Is?
6. Temper, Temper
7. Alienation

Anything sound familiar?  If you can relate, maybe you are stuck in Career Depression Syndrome.  Or, maybe it’s just time for you to make a change.  If so, I’ve got a recommendation…start a job-search blog. 

Use your blog to chronicle your research about the industry and job you are targeting; about corporate and TPR recruiting blogs; your day-to-day job interviews; sites that offer up excellent info on blogging as it pertains to social networks, word-of-mouth marketing, and personal brand.  Seek out other job-search blogs; see what the job-search experts are saying in places like Recruiting.com, and then get advice on how to better equip yourself for job-search success at sites like CareerHub.

You can take a stab at doing this job-search thing alone, or, you can join the community of folks who are living it 24 x 7.  It’s just my opinion, but the Lone Ranger style of job search too often leads job-seekers to a dead-end road called…..“Cemetery Lane.” 

Dennis Smith
T-Mobile Recruiting
CareerBuilderBlog